Semi-final line-up for Britain's Got Talent taking shape

The acts taking part in the first live semi-final of Britain's Got Talent have been revealed and they are 100 Voices Of Gospel, crossbow performer Ben Blaque, impressionist Darren Altman and singer Kathleen Jenkins.

A colourful cabaret act and a mother-and-son singing duo are among those hoping to impress Simon Cowell and the gang

The acts taking part in the first live semi-final of Britain's Got Talent have been revealed and they are 100 Voices Of Gospel, crossbow performer Ben Blaque, impressionist Darren Altman and singer Kathleen Jenkins.

They will be joined by mother and son duo Mel & Jamie, performer Richard Bayton, performance squad Spartans Resurrection, dance crew Total TXS and Welsh dance troupe, the Ystrad Fawr Dancers.

With the audition stage over, the lucky few who received three or more yeses from the judges were invited to the London Palladium to be told which 40 acts had been picked to join the five Golden Buzzer contestants in the live rounds of the show which start on Sunday night.

Judge Simon Cowell is known for his love of dog acts, so naturally dancing Pomeranian-Maltese mix Trip Hazard and his owner Lucy were chosen to go through.

Waiting to be told of her fate, Lucy said: "Today means everything to me, I think it's probably the most important day of my life so far."

The winner of ITV's Britain's Got Talent, now in its tenth year, will perform for the Queen at the Royal Variety Show and win a £250,000 prize.

Elizabeth II leapt around the stage and hugged her troupe of Queen's Guards as she was given the good news - but this was, in fact, the Elite Squad Royalz, a children's dance group from Oxford who had performed a hip-hop routine in royal fancy dress. The squad were told they were through to the next round.

Dancer Jack Higgins, from Liverpool, will also see his Billy Elliot dream continue as he has been picked for the semi-finals.

Like the character Jamie Bell plays in the award-winning movie, the 14-year-old has a love of ballet, but it has made him the target of bullies.

"When I started ballet, people were calling me names ... I was getting really upset, but dancing, it just makes me feel happy," he said before his audition.

Jack earned four yeses from the judges after performing a ballet routine to Say Something by A Great Big World.

Fellow Liverpudlian dancer Chloe Fenton, 10, followed Higgins through to the semi-final.

Chloe said: "I'm over the moon, really excited."

Singer Jenkins, a 25-year-old cleaner from Newport in South Wales, was in tears after ringing her father to tell him she was in the semi-finals.

She said: "I'm so happy because one of the things my dad always said was, before he leaves on his little plane to the sky, that he'd want to see me on TV and that would make his life. So I've finally gave him his dream."

But while it was a yes for Danny Beard from Manchester, who wore a sequin skirt and put glitter in his beard to perform Sweet Transvestite from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, drag queen Ruby Murry had a less successful day.

As the judges whittled down the acts and agonised over who to take through, other acts who made the cut included magician Christian Lee and Richard Jones, an Army Bandsman who showed off his mind-reading skills.

Children's entertainment act Vadik And The Bear, which features a giant polar bear, was successful, as were the Togni Brothers with their foot juggling skills.

Five acts already had guaranteed places in the live semi-finals after the judges and presenters used their Golden Buzzers to put them straight through.

Amanda Holden picked 12-year-old Beau Dermott for her rendition of Defying Gravity from Wicked, while Alesha Dixon hit the buzzer for 100 Voices Of Gospel.

Ian and Anne Marshall had inspired David Walliams with their performance of Beyonce's Crazy In Love, and hosts Ant and Dec were determined to see 14-year-old singer Jasmine Elcock through to the next round.

Cowell had pressed his Golden Buzzer to ensure that the dancing Stormtroopers of Boogie Storm were through to the semi-finals.

:: Britain's Got Talent live semi-finals air on Sunday May 22 through to Thursday May 26 at 7.30pm on ITV.